As a system, defense equipment such as missiles and drones are designed and built from various types of components, and often these high-tech components come from unofficial 'imports'. For example, when a conflict occurs, dismantling or unboxing an opponent's defense equipment becomes an interesting activity, where it is not uncommon to find that the defense equipment in question actually uses components from countries that are in fact opponents.
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For example, Russia's Orlan 10 surveillance drone, when it was shot down and examined, turned out to use components from an American company. Apart from that, components from Japan, China and Switzerland were also found. Well, it seems that the last mentioned country has recently become a topic of discussion again.
Quoted by defense-blog.com which was launched from mil.in.ua, it was stated that Russia's newest MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defense System) hanud missile, namely the 9K333 Verba (SA-25), had integrated components from a Swiss company. This attracted attention, because the Verba is a Russian fourth generation MANPADS hanud missile which is known to be sophisticated.
From the same source it is said that the 9K333 Verba uses a power converter from the Swiss company Traco Power into the multi-spectral optical heat seeker on the missile's guidance system.
The Swiss-produced component has played an important role in improving the performance of advanced self-guided missiles such as the Verba, a development that marks a significant leap forward in Russia's air defense capabilities.
For the record, Switzerland has the status of a neutral country, which has established a policy of prohibiting the supply of weapons to Ukraine and the re-export of Swiss weapons systems and ammunition to Ukraine from other countries.
MANPADS Verba is a relatively new product adopted by the Russian army in 2014. This product was developed by the Joint Stock Company Research and Production Corporation Konstruktorskoye byuro mashynostroyeniya (JSC RPC KBM).
According to Russian state media, one of the advantages of “Verba” is its high probability of hitting cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, including vehicles with low thermal emissions.
The main advantages of the Verba missile are a more sensitive self-guided head and higher jamming resistance. The unique triple-spectral multi-platform heat seeker can operate in the ultraviolet, near-infrared and mid-infrared ranges, enabling maximum target information acquisition.
Increased missile sensitivity expands the range of capture of air objects. In addition, the self-guided head is automatically able to distinguish false thermal targets and select real objects based on several characteristics.
The Verba is powered by a solid fuel rocket motor and is capable of launching missiles at a speed of 500 meters per second. With a shooting range of 6 km, the launch height of this missile can reach 6.5 km. According to the developer, the Verba launch height is the leader in the MANPADS class, because similar missiles have an average launch height of 4.5 km.
Overall, the weight of the 9K333 Verba reaches 17.25 kg, with 1.5 kg being the weight of the warhead. So far, Verba users outside Russia are Armenia and Syria.
The combat element of the Verba system can operate in conjunction with an automated target designation system that allows the Verba missile gunner to receive target data from high-level control assets and autonomous detection tools.